Overwatch beta resumes with some big changes

The Overwatch closed beta resumed today, with quite a number of changes both up-front and under the hood. We spoke with Game Director Jeff Kaplan about some of the biggest new features, including the progression system and unlocks, but if you want to dig down into the details—I'm talking about things like Torbjorn's scrap-per-pickup amount being reduced from 30 to 20—then you'll want to have a look at the full Beta Patch Notes that are now up at Battle.net. If you want to skip to a specific part, these heated links will help...

For those still here, major changes in the new beta include a new Control game mode, in which two teams fight over objective areas in a best-of-three format, two new control maps called Lijiang Tower and Nepal, an option to play against the AI rather than other humans, and active player progression, which Blizzard discussed in further depth here.

“Progression in Overwatch is built around earning experience and leveling up your account. Moving forward, you will now gain experience by completing Quick Play and Play vs. AI games. Earn enough experience, and you’ll level up. Level up and you'll receive a Loot Box!” the patch notes explain. “Loot Boxes contain a random selection of items that can be used to customize the look of your hero and express yourself in-game, including skins, animations, emotes, custom dialogue options, sprays, and more. In addition to collecting these items from Loot Boxes, players can also unlock them by spending a new in-game currency called credits.”

Blizzard also tweeted some good news for people waiting to get into the second beta:

[BETA] A new wave of accounts from our opt-in pool have just been flagged for Closed Beta access. Emails are on the way!February 9, 2016

Andy covers the day-to-day happenings in the big, wide world of PC gaming—the stuff we call "news." In his off hours, he wishes he had time to play the 80-hour RPGs and immersive sims he used to love so much.